Kangal - Balikli Kaplica - A report of a journey

       1. About me

I’m 35 years and suffering under Psoriasis since the age of eleven. Before starting the holidays, about 30 percent of my skin was ill. Before I participated the "Sole-Photo-Therapie" (Bad Bentheim, Germany). But the cure was only for three or four months. That’s why I decided myself for this holidays after I heard about the fishes from Kangal. Since I’ve been back, there is no skin with classical Psoriasis any more. 
Where it had been is now only red skin. After one week I have no dandruff.

       2.  How to get to Kangal and how to leave

The journey to Kangal is via Istanbul or Ankara. Then you take a flight to Silvas. This airport is 100 km away from Kangal. I had to stay there for one night at a good hotel in Istanbul before I could fly from Istanbul to 
Silvas. The transfer from the airport to the hotel and from this hotel to the 
airport at the next day was without problems. Somebody was waiting at the airport Silvas and drove me to the Balikli 
Kaplica Hotel. We arrived after 1 ¾ hours. Neither the journey back to Germany, also with including a night in Istanbul, caused any problems.

    3. The hotel
 

	You see the entrance hall. The hotel is very simple but if you have only low demands you won’t be disappointed!
	You see the entrance hall. The hotel is very simple but if you have only  low demands you won’t be disappointed! The hotel has a nice entrance hall where I liked to sit..As you can see . The rooms are very simple, only equipped by two beds, a wardrobe, a small cupboard (near the bed) and a desk with two chairs. The bathroom has a toilet, a shower and a washroom. The water temperature is always 37°C (101°F), no possibility to get it colder or warmer. There are no towels. But there is toilet paper meanwhile. Only by request you`ll get new one. The cleaner usually cleans the room after the guests have left. Only on demand she’ll clean during your stay. Other guests told me, that the cleaner will tidy your room every 2nd day if you ask her. A hint: The walls are very thin.  You should use earplugs.
	Picture left shows Ismael. He is the manager of the hotel. He speaks a  little bit English and can help if you have any problems. If you need  medicine he will get it. Picture right: You see Jussuf and his wife. He’s the 2nd manager of the hotel. He’s friendly but he speaks only turkish.

    4. The food

	At breakfast you get butter, marmelade, honey, cheese, cheese of goats,  turkish sausages, hard-boiled eggs, olives and tomatoes. There’s also black tea and Nescafé. If you want fruit tea or something similar you should buy it at home. Hot water is available.
	At lunch and dinner you can always choose of three different meals: three kinds of casseroles. Every evening you get aubergines with beans and meat.  Unfortunatly all sauces are tasting similar. That was boring. There was  always rice, too. You can also get soup. If you ask you are allowed to try  the taste and sometimes they aren’t really bad. Another alternative : grilled kebab, accompained by loads of tzatziki and a salad of tomatoes and onions. The dessert is always a kind of fruit: melons, peaches or pears.

    5. The treatment

	It isn’t a medical treatment. You have to stay in the pools for 8 hours each day. There are three different kinds of fishes. One kind (the silvery ones) are biting the thick skin-parts soft. The other fishes are scrabing the dandruffs. People say the fishes are responsable for 20% of the healing.  After the dandruffs are away the water cures. You have to drink 3 litres each  day. And you have to take daily baths. The parts of your skin with Psoriasis  are turning into healthy skin. Later you can sunbathe to get nice equal colour.
	There are different ways to take a bath. First, you can bath in the river.  But there is always one access to the river and you see it’s usually overcrowded.
	Additionally you can visit the Olimpia-swimming-pool. It opens at 6 o’clock  in the morning and everybody is allowed to swim there. So there are lots of  people with all kinds of different infectious illnesses . At lunchtime the water is already dirty , although it is drained every evening.
	There are four swimming-pools for the medical treatment - two bigger and  two smaller ones. The first smaller swimming-pool is obliged for men - the  second is only for women. You can visit them from 8am till 12am and 2pm till  6pm. The large swimming-pools are periodly opened for men and women. Picture left: The little swimming-pool for men only. There are only few fishes. You should bath there if you have no dandruffs anymore. If you are already  injured, the little silvery fishes like to bite the wounds until they bleed.  You have to protect yourself. The next pictures: the two big pools.

    6. What else?

	Picture left: Massimo and Marie Claire. If you travel to Kangal with family or friends everybody should have Psoriasis. Marie Claire was accompanied by Massimo. There was really nothing to do for him. You will be lost if you haven’t enough books to read. The country is quite uninvitable for excursions .
	There is a little shop near the hotel. There you can buy cigarettes, drinks and sweets. You can also get needed things like pflaster or Aspirin. Only few things are marked with a price. You´ll never know if the prices are real and fair .
	It’s appreciating that people from Kangal are fighting against moskitos but it’s at visitor’s expense. Every evening they spray DDT. The background of the picture left: The man with the „spray-gun" near the tea-house.

    7. My helpful hints

Additionally to all the things you take to your holiday you shouldn’t forget this helpful things: 

• pflaster
• Vaseline
• clothes-line and clothes-pegs
• multi vitamin tabletts
• T-shirts for the swimming-pool
• a cap for the swimming-pool
• earplugs
• If you’re injured you should secure your wounds with pflaster or clothes. 
  Wounds couldn’t heal when the fishes open them again and again.
• Don’t dive your head under water. It has lots of particles of people’s skins.You can become infected.
• Take care of the sun. One day I got a sunburn when I sat in a shady part of the pool.
• Don’t drive to Kangal alone. The boredom will kill you. Everytime somebody 
  leaves you will be very sad. If you have nobody to travel with you can mail 
  to brinkko@t-online.de . I’ll try to establish a contact.

A very special friend of mine has translated this page into english.

Frank, thank you for all that work.